Premium Member alejandro Posted January 16, 2017 Premium Member Share Posted January 16, 2017 Hi, I'm looking to adjust the stock suspension. I know this has been covered in numerous threads, but I know too that everyone is looking for something slightly different, so I'll say here what I'm looking for and perhaps someone will have a few thoughts. Thank you in advance to anyone who chooses to take the time to help me! :-) I am probably 185 lbs with gear, and I pretty much always have the top case on. I'm usually alone on the bike, very often just commuting, and sometimes a longer ride or a fun ride. Occasionally 2-up. I'm willing to adjust the preload when I do 2-up, and/or tire pressures, but I'd rather not have to adjust much else. What I'm looking for is: - less lightness in front-end when accelerating - less bounciness in the back I think the way to go is probably some combination of - lowering the front end - decreasing the preload in the back - adjusting other settings - maybe adjusting tire pressure? (I'm running 36f/42r per manual) If anyone has specific recommendations (like number of mm or number of turns or like that), I would love to hear them! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carey Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 I'm about the same weight ( 180 without gear) and run a top case. With the stock suspension, the front end felt a little light. I kept adding more preload in the rear to give a little more feedback. I ended up with max preload on the rear shock, and no preload on the front. This worked out to 32mm sag in the rear and 50mm sag in the front. This improved the lightness in the front, but with the OEM damping, I doubt you can make much difference in the bounciness. Raising the fork legs about 5mm in the clamps will help too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcal616 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Took me a min to find my post... norcal616 Avatar Oct 9, 2016 21:33:13 GMT -5 norcal616 said: Here are my final settings: Front forks: Preload, 24/64 inch from top of fork cap to bottom of adjuster. Rebound, 6 clicks out (ccw) from full in. Rear shock: Rebound, 1.25 turns out (ccw) from full in. Preload, position 5 from full soft. ** top of fork tube is just sticking a hair thickness above the top triple tree clamp** Try these settings...I'm 185# geared up and enjoy the settings but I do wish I had a few more # on me with these settings it would be better...I found these settings after reading thru a few different forum threads and found these settings to be very very similar across the threads I read over...I'm 92-95% happy with the settings but I'm a bit light for the stock rear shock valving so it just needs to be corrected for my weight and it will be 95%+ good enough for me...currently really tall frost heaves that are 3 inches or taller will give me a little seat bounce which can be solved with a revalve... 2012 wr250f - C-class 30+ age group 2015 fz-07- Hordpower Edition-80whp 2015 fj-09- Graves Exhaust w/Woolich tune by 2WDW @120whp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member alejandro Posted January 17, 2017 Author Premium Member Share Posted January 17, 2017 Thanks @carey and @norcal616! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member alejandro Posted January 17, 2017 Author Premium Member Share Posted January 17, 2017 @norcal616 you say that 3" frost heaves give you a little seat bounce--would the right suspension really fix that? Seems like a tall order! On a street bike at least. I'll be happy for sure if both ends feel more planted... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcal616 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Sorry...total goof on my part... 3 inches is not correct...more like 1.5 inches or the thickness of the asphalt layer to be more accurate, michigan has some rough roads -_- made my stock suspension on my FZ-07 feel like a pogo stick from 1960... 2012 wr250f - C-class 30+ age group 2015 fz-07- Hordpower Edition-80whp 2015 fj-09- Graves Exhaust w/Woolich tune by 2WDW @120whp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcal616 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Im happy with these settings, they suit my riding style... I can feel the tires are planted and i can still feel road surface behavior... I would have to ride another FJ with diffrent suspension settings or brand to really see if i need difrrent suspension set up... I do wanna mess with the settings but im trying really hard to adherd to the saying " if it ain't broken, dont fix it"... 2012 wr250f - C-class 30+ age group 2015 fz-07- Hordpower Edition-80whp 2015 fj-09- Graves Exhaust w/Woolich tune by 2WDW @120whp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carey Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Im happy with these settings, they suit my riding style... I can feel the tires are planted and i can still feel road surface behavior... I would have to ride another FJ with diffrent suspension settings or brand to really see if i need difrrent suspension set up... I do wanna mess with the settings but im trying really hard to adherd to the saying " if it ain't broken, dont fix it"... norcal, There's another saying from some suspension tuner (I can't remember who) that goes something like "The best you've ridden is the best you know". If you're happy that's what counts. I was unfortunate to compare OEM FJ suspension with other bikes. There is room for improvement, but OEM suspension didn't hold me back. The suspension work done to my FJ didn't necessarily increase my speed, but it did boost my confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjmax Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 Ok I'm bringing this topic back. I'm a little on the heavy side so this is probably why my front forks seems so spongy. It only bothers me when I'm riding hard in the canyons and braking hard before a corner. I have tightened up my my forks to the third line , but it still lunges me forward while braking. It's not as bad as it was when I bought it , the dealership had it on the 7th line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobaintstoppin Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 The stock fork springs are soft. You need stronger springs. The damping sucks too, but your stated issue is the springs. See the other threads on this to get an idea of what spring rate might be good for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjmax Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 The stock fork springs are soft. You need stronger springs. The damping sucks too, but your stated issue is the springs. See the other threads on this to get an idea of what spring rate might be good for you. Thanks for the response! I will check some out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacer Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 This YouTuber explains how to set-up suspension on the MT (FZ)-09. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted February 15, 2017 Supporting Member Share Posted February 15, 2017 If you're happy that's what counts. I was unfortunate to compare OEM FJ suspension with other bikes. There is room for improvement, but OEM suspension didn't hold me back. While I always upgrade the suspension on all of my bikes, for general commuting type riding, I found the OEM suspension to be pretty decent as delivered. If you ride more aggressively of are over 185# then at a minimum you will need proper springs, but for stock suspension it isn't nearly as bad as some bikes I have ridden. ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.